


Lost in Thoughts

by spacedaydreamer



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Angst, Gen, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), and managed to find a way to put that into words, but like... soft angst, maybe not full on character study but i spend a lot of time thinking, sometimes you hold off the apocalypse but you're still sad inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 13:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18165989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: Holding the mask in his hands, for just a moment, he hesitated. Was this a good idea? After all- it was Majora who’d handed the mask over in the first place. And there was something about it, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked at it… this mask was dangerous. Powerful. He knew all too well what lust for power did to a person.But he was angry. He was tired. And he was going to put an end to all of this.





	Lost in Thoughts

“Link, wait- are you sure?”

Holding the mask in his hands, for just a moment, he hesitated. _Was_ this a good idea? After all- it was Majora who’d handed the mask over in the first place. And there was something about it, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked at it… this mask was dangerous. Powerful. He knew all too well what lust for power did to a person.

But he was angry. He was tired. And he was going to put an _end_ to all of this.

So without a word, he put the mask on.

The effect of that was immediate- much like the other transformation masks he’d gained, there was a flood of emotions that weren’t his that crashed into him, overwhelming and painful and somehow worse than any of the others. This was different, he could feel. This mask was different. Stronger. _Darker_. The mask itself had a will, something that was trying to move and act and _fight_ , from the second he set his empty eyes on Majora’s form.

He wouldn’t fight against the mask, though. Anger sustained him, for a time- a connection between him and the mask, something that would control it. Something that allowed him to lead every swing of his sword, to aim all of that hatred and anger out on Majora. The mask, the incarnation, the _rage_ -

Was it his?

Was it Majora’s?

It didn’t matter. No matter what, this would be coming to an end now.

“Link, it’s over. You can take it off now.”

He didn’t hear Tatl at first. Whether from the rush of battle or from a choice to ignore her, it wasn’t clear. But the mask was still angry, it still wanted to fight, it still craved battle and war and trampling over those foolish enough to stand in its way-

“ _Link!_ ”

Empty eyes blinked as Tatl shouted, face not moving a muscle as she pulled at silver hair with all her might.

“Take it _off_ already! Do you _want_ to end up like Skull Kid?!”

No, he didn’t. But the mask didn’t want to stop yet. And he still had pain and anger and hatred to sustain it, all locked away inside his heart from those years of lost time. If he’d been strong like this, things would have been different. He never would’ve lost those seven long years. He could’ve stopped Ganondorf even as a child. Perhaps he could’ve even saved the Great Deku Tree, or at least properly avenged him.

“I said _Take! It! Off!”_

Tatl was kicking at his cheek, tiny hands making weak attempts to pull the mask off his face. He raised one hand to swat her away, to ignore her, to move on and leave and forget about her- and stopped.

This wasn’t who he was.

This wouldn’t fix things.

Nothing could fix things for him.

Fingers pulled off the mask that couldn’t be seen, returning Link to his normal form when they were returned to the field outside Clock Town. He stared at the mask in his hands, stared into the empty holes that’d been his eyes mere moments ago- and it felt like they stared back at him.

“Oh thank the goddesses- are you an _idiot?!_ Why would you use something like that?! I thought someone was going to have to save the world from _you_ next!”

Things could’ve gone that way. He didn’t want to admit it, but perhaps they could’ve. If the mask’s anger had overwhelmed him, if he’d lost what little control he’d had on it. It wasn’t very heroic of him, to use a weapon like this mask.

But then again, he wasn’t much of a hero here. He’d saved Termina, but he’d taken far too long. He could call himself a hero all he wanted, he could pride himself on the things he’d done, but he was hardly a hero here. Not when he knew all of the times he’d let people be hurt, simply because he needed to fix other things on that cycle.

All the times he’d let Romani get hurt. The times Kafei had been trapped in Sakon’s hideout, alone and defeated, while the thief made off with his mask. The times he’d convinced Anju to wait for Kafei, unknowing that he wouldn’t return in time. The times he hadn’t saved Lulu and Mikau’s children from the pirates and sea snakes. The times the monkey would be sent to his death for crimes he didn’t commit. Tael being hit over and over, on endless loop by the Skull Kid.

All of them hurt because he’d ignored them. He’d saved them _this_ time, spent countless hours before writing schedules and trying to find the best way to do everything.

But the countless times he’d let them be hurt before wouldn’t be erased for _him_ , even if the rest of the world forgot.

“What are you standing there like that for? Why do you look so _gloomy?_ We _won!_ It’s over now.”

He didn’t speak. He never said much, and she knew that. He was fairly sure it annoyed her, but she at least didn’t complain about it anymore.

“And would you put that mask away already? It’s creeping me out to look at. I don’t know how you can even look at that thing. It’s evil, I can feel it.”

He could feel it too, although he wouldn’t call it evil. Evil was like Ganon, evil was like Majora. This was something different- certainly dark, equally dangerous, but not evil.

 _Unsettling_ , was the word he decided upon. He couldn’t really think of a better one to use. The way it fed on his anger, the overwhelming power and desire for battle- unsettling, for sure.

He eventually tucked the mask away though, putting it out of sight allowing him to take a moment to ignore the memories of his body not quite being his. He wouldn’t say it- _he never said much-_ but it had reminded him of the time when his body had been older, stronger. When he’d been older than now but younger than now, of a body that wasn’t right and never would be. He wasn’t supposed to grow up, but he _had_.

He tucked the memories away, too. He didn’t have need for those either.

Tatl seemed relieved when the mask was finally out of his hands, finally flying back closer to him. Had she been scared, he wondered? He supposed he couldn’t blame her, not after what happened to Skull Kid and Tael. But she was a strong person, she wouldn’t have stuck around if something bad happened. Tatl could look after herself.

“Link? Are you even listening to me?”

He turned to look at her, but she didn’t seem satisfied.

“Link? Can’t you look, like… _happy_ , or something? It’s _over!_ ”

“It’s… over.”

He repeated her words softly, voice dry from how little he tended to use it. Most times, he didn’t like the sound of his voice. It wasn’t bright and warm like Saria’s, or calm and wise like Zelda’s, or even strong and smooth like Malon’s. It was rough and different, and it didn’t even work some of the time.

“It’s… it’s… over.”

“Yes, it’s over now! Finally! No more repeating things!”

It seemed like Tatl didn’t believe her own words- he couldn’t blame her. He’d lost count fairly quickly of how many cycles of days he’d gone through, and hadn’t bothered trying to keep track. It probably would’ve driven him insane, knowing how often he’d repeated the same things. Had it been months? Years? He couldn’t honestly answer. And for all the world knew right now, it’d only been seventy-two hours.

He wondered how she’d take it. He knew what it was like to be the only person in the world who knew about times everyone else had forgotten… it wasn’t easy. It was a burden on your heart that nobody could bear for you.

But unlike him, Tatl wasn’t alone. She had Tael, and she had Skull Kid. She wouldn’t be alone when all was said and done.

Eventually, the time came, and all was said and done. It was time for Link to leave, climbing onto Epona’s back as the few who had any idea what’d _really_ stopped the moon from falling watched on.

He smiled his goodbye to them, his goodbye to Termina, and rode off.

Alone again with his thoughts, with these masks, with too much to think about and nobody to distract him from his own mind. He couldn’t stay in Termina, he knew that. It was about time he returned to Hyrule, even if he was practically a stranger in his own country. Even if he could never truly return _home_ , it was better there than here, in a land that he didn’t belong to. In a land that begged him to be anyone aside from who he was, that encouraged him to just _forget_ , and become someone else.

In Hyrule he was nobody, but nobody was better than somebody else. It was better than pretending to be someone’s friend or family, and knowing he couldn’t tell them the truth yet- that the person they loved was gone, that he was a fake, that he couldn’t make up for things. That in the end, he hadn’t been able to fix _everything_.

The thoughts weighed him down, and his mind went back to that final mask- the Fierce Deity. Who or what it’d been, he didn’t know. But it had a power that was terrifying, that he hoped he’d never have to use again.

He didn’t want to think about how it’d felt, so he didn’t. He ignored the anger, the pain, the _hate_ that’d been so available for the mask to use. Those feelings weren’t very heroic, even if _he_ wasn’t very heroic. He wanted to at least _pretend_ to be a hero, even if Tatl would know better- but she wouldn’t be around anymore.

He’d be alone.

All the more reason then to ignore those feelings, ignore those thoughts, and travel back to Hyrule. There was nobody who could understand that timeline, and nobody who he wanted to try explaining it to. And if he was going to be alone, better to at least be back in a country he understood, forever looking for a friend that he knew inside he’d never find.

Perhaps then, it was good that he had these masks. They would help hide his face, his true face, until he could determine for himself what that was supposed to be. Until he himself could believe that ‘hero’ was a good mask for him, he’d use these ones to substitute.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Been wanting to write some MM fic for a while now, it and OoT will always have a special place in my heart. Poor Link just... doesn't ever get a break.


End file.
